Monday, March 21, 2011

HOU IRAN/BAHREIN DOP

Foreign plot against Bahrain foiled, king says

Country returns to some sense of normalcy

By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Published: 23:23 March 20, 2011

Manama: A plot targeting Bahrain has been foiled, King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa said on Sunday.

"What Bahrain has witnessed is a test from God,” the king said. “However, there is a foreign plot that has been in the making for at least 20 to 30 years so that the ground is ready for its execution. If it is successful in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, it might spread.

“However, it will not succeed in Bahrain or in any of the other GCC countries. I tell you that this plot has been foiled,” King Hamad told the senior officers from the Peninsula Shield, the military arm of the GCC, in Bahrain to help restore calm and stability.

No country or figure was named, but relations between Bahrain and Iran are inexorably plunging to their lowest in decades after Tehran criticised Manama for taking action against the protesters and pushed for condemnation from the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Conference.

Both Manama and Tehran recalled their ambassadors for consultation.

Public establishments

Bahrain, which faced several weeks of disruption due to unrest, regained a sense of normalcy on Sunday after ministries and public establishments resumed work.

Bahrain’s oil and gas authority and electricity and water authority reported regular attendance in line with the instructions of the civil service bureau.

Staff levels remained quasi-normal in three major companies and petrol stations operated normally without disruption, the authority said in a statement.

In schools, around 90 per cent of the administrative staff returned to work, but most of the teachers did not show up, ostensibly in keeping with requests circulated on the internet, a source said.

The civil service bureau, in charge of public employees, had urged a return to work on Sunday.